"Anby! It's so great to see you!" Ye Qingfeng rushed toward her, unable to hide his excitement. "You have no idea what happened to me! Ywo Ethereals chased me for ages but I managed to escape and how did you end up here? Where are Billy and Nicole?"
Anby looked at him without a change in expression. Slowly, she drew the blade from behind her back and swung it toward him.
"Whoa!"
Ye Qingfeng never expected Anby to suddenly draw her weapon. Instinctively, he closed his eyes and leaned back.
Huh? No pain?!
He cautiously opened his eyes and immediately saw a cut in the fabric near his collar, along with a few strands of hair drifting through the air...
"Anby... if you have any issues with me, you can just tell me directly..."
But her face remained unreadable, making it impossible for him to guess her thoughts. For safety's sake, he began to slowly back away.
"Ahhh! It's Qingfeng..."
"Ahhh!!"
After five or six steps back, Ye Qingfeng suddenly bumped into something. His first thought was that he'd hit a wall—but then he remembered there shouldn't be anything solid behind him in this open area!
He gulped, but before he could turn to look, a piercing scream erupted right behind him. Startled, he scrambled forward, stumbling in his hurry to get away.
"Huff... huff... it's just Billy..."
When he finally turned and saw it was the robot in the red jacket, he let out a sigh of relief and grumbled, "Seriously... don't just scream out of nowhere like that!"
"Sorry, sorry! I was just too excited to see you and Anby!" Billy walked over and threw an arm around Ye Qingfeng's shoulder. "By the way, Brother Qingfeng, how did you end up in the Hollow, too?"
"Now's not the time for that—Anby just tried to cut me down!"
Ye Qingfeng didn't answer Billy's question, his eyes darting between the two of them. Ultimately, he decided the robot beside him felt safer. With a quick step, he ducked behind Billy, peering warily at Anby in the distance.
"That can't be! Why would Anby suddenly attack you?!"
Unconvinced, Billy walked toward Anby, while Ye Qingfeng remained cautiously hidden behind him.
"Right, Anby?"
"Encountered two rational individuals. They closely resemble my colleagues: Ye Qingfeng and Billy."
Anby didn't respond directly, continuing to speak matter-of-factly.
"What are you talking about? It really is me! Billy!"
Ye Qingfeng glanced at Anby's expressionless face, then at Billy.
Why does Anby seem more like a robot than Billy does?
But seeing that Anby hadn't made any further moves, Ye Qingfeng finally stepped out from behind Billy.
"There have been cases where investigators in Hollows encountered Ethereals capable of mimicking human speech and behavior," Anby continued seriously. "After rescuing what they thought was a teammate from the Hollow, the creature revealed its true form."
"The city paid a heavy price. In the end, thanks to a brave investigator who sacrificed themselves to push the Ethereal back into the Hollow, the crisis was resolved."
"Come on! Ethereals disintegrate the moment they leave a Hollow!"
Billy placed a hand on his hip, retorting with exasperation.
Huh?! Really? So Ethereals can't leave Hollows?!
Nicole never mentioned that. Ye Qingfeng made a mental note. But why does the scenario Anby just described feel so familiar...
Wait isn't that the plot of the movie we watched together recently?!
"You're talking about a movie, aren't you?! Oh, that horror film that just came out, right?!"
Billy finally realized Anby was reciting a movie plot.
"The victims from that incident formed a very long list. I read through all of it."
Realizing she'd been caught, Anby quickly explained in a tone that practically begged for praise.
Billy facepalmed in sheer frustration. "That's called the credits!"
What is even happening here? Ye Qingfeng felt a bit exasperated, too. Wasn't the Hollow supposed to be extremely dangerous? Why were they fooling around like this?
Shouldn't they be focusing on finding a way out?
"Um... I think we should probably discuss—"
Anby suddenly cut off Ye Qingfeng's hesitant suggestion. "Question: Who would Billy most want to have dinner with?"
"Uh... Well, of course... the tokusatsu superhero, Starlight Knight!"
After hearing Billy's answer, Anby didn't hesitate—she reached for her blade again.
"Wait... hold on! Put the blade away! I'll tell you, I'll tell you!" Billy visibly panicked. "It's... the star of the late-night drama Oh~ Sweetheart, Monica..."
Can robots blush?
Ye Qingfeng glanced at the bashful-looking Billy and quietly wondered.
"Question: How much Denny did Nicole give us as a bonus last time?"
Seeing that Billy had passed the test, Anby turned her gaze to Ye Qingfeng and continued.
"Uh... 10,000 for Anby, and... 10,000 for me?"
"Alert lifted. The individuals suspected of being Billy and Ye Qingfeng are confirmed to be genuine." Anby continued with her usual serious tone. "Reuniting with Billy and Ye Qingfeng increases my survival probability by 67.9%."
"I'm glad both you and Billy are safe."
"Hold on! Anby, what was that about a bonus?!"
Billy racked his memory—had Boss Nicole ever given out bonuses? Wait... when did he ever get the impression she would hand out bonuses...
Could it be that I'm the only one who didn't get one?!
But now wasn't the time to dwell on that. They needed to get out safely first—then he could confront Nicole about the missing bonus!
"We've been down here for a while. Boss Nicole must be figuring something out on the outside," Billy said, though he sounded uncertain. "But would she be willing to spend money to hire help? This is Boss Nicole we're talking about, after all. Hahaha..."
"Based on Nicole's historically tightfisted budgeting, your skepticism regarding her willingness to hire rescue is statistically valid."
Anby fully agreed with Billy's assessment, while Ye Qingfeng stood to the side, hesitating, unable to get a word in...
What?! Why do Anby and Billy think so poorly of Nicole? Sure, she's a bit greedy with money... but she wouldn't be that heartless, right?
Wait... given how she tried to pocket the payment for this mission herself... maybe she really would!
No! That's not the point right now!
"Wait... hold on? Qingfeng, why are you in the Hollow, anyway?!" Billy glanced at Ye Qingfeng and suddenly realized something was off. "Weren't you supposed to be watching the car outside?! And what's your Ether adaptation level?!"
Finally, you remember we're in a Hollow.
"My Ether adaptation is around 60-something percent..."
As for why he didn't tell the truth... come on!
What if an 80% Ether adaptation level had never been recorded before, making him the only one in all of New Eridu?
He'd definitely get dissected for research! Was he supposed to gamble that there were no bad actors among the higher-ups?!
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